


Out of the Cupboard

by LunaRowena



Series: Watcher Amaryllis [4]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Deadfire, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 11:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14714990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunaRowena/pseuds/LunaRowena
Summary: She was Fassina. Whatever life could take from her, it could not take her pride. She was a daughter of the Deadfire. Power and heat rolled in her veins.





	Out of the Cupboard

**Author's Note:**

> Pillars Prompts Weekly #0040: First Impressions
> 
> I got a bit off of the intended topic, but the important thing is writing things, right?

Well, it was a ship. A green and yellow ship flying a Dyrwoodan flag bobbing in the harbor. Fassina didn’t know much about ships. The name, painted neatly on the side, spelled out _The Defiant_. The correct place, then. She tried vainly to keep her bangs out of her eyes as the wind blew them around. She was out of place on the docks, she knew, in her purple, lace ruffed robes while the rest of the occupants were dressed in loose clothing appropriate for climbing rigging and swabbing decks and… whatever it was that sailors did. Blowing another lock out of her face and balancing a box on her hip, she marched forward with her head high. She was Fassina. Whatever life could take from her, it could not take her pride. She was a daughter of the Deadfire. Power and heat rolled in her veins.

She had worked so hard to get to Arkemyr. So what if she had missed the opportunities of those raised in the Republics? They weren’t any better than her. What they had in training she had in talent and obstinance. Hours she had studied and practiced. Many beakers had she scrubbed in minor magic shops. All the shoulders she’d rubbed. _Sorcerer_ , they’d called her still. _Not a real wizard_. They would stop laughing when she cast Web in their face.

It had been the highlight of her life when she caught the eye of Arkemyr. She had been dazzled by his power and authority and practically giddy when he shook her hand. And when he decided to take her for his apprentice? That night she had danced around her tiny room in glee. No more postage stamp of a room. Soon she would be living in a castle with the greatest wizard in Neketaka. The dream shattered quickly. What was expected of an apprentice of Arkemyr was to be a good salesman and to be good at jumping when told. Those awful imps everywhere, all the time. But she was so lucky, her fellows would sigh, to be working with a great like Arkemyr. So she stayed. She stayed with Arkemyr, she stayed with Bertenno.

Bertenno. He was so sweet when she met him. A bright spot in her otherwise dreary existence. Eventually it became clear how reckless he was with money, but everyone had their faults. He still held her close and whispered sweet nothings in her ear and that was good enough for her. She had trusted him enough to add him as an exception to the security system. And he had returned the favor by robbing Arkemyr. Robbing her.

 _You can do better_ , the Captain had said. The strange pale elf who had walked into her shop and promised to get those gloves back… just because. And she had. Fassina still wondered what her motives were. No one gave favors for nothing. Although maybe it wasn’t for nothing, because Fassina was here, wasn’t she? At the ship. _You can come with me if you like_ , she had offered, smiling. Her and her ragtag group following along behind her, people Fassina wondered why they were ever together in the first place. There was even a cat. Maybe she collected strays. Fassina didn’t like thinking of herself like that.

 _You can do better_. Better than Bertenno, whom she had loved and who had robbed her. Better than Arkemyr, whom she had wanted so desperately to respect and who only wanted to be left alone in his little palace with his imps. Better than the Dark Cupboard. Was this better? She should be devastated that her life’s dreams were in ruins, but it felt so good to quit. It was at least different. So here she was throwing her life into the hands of this strange woman she had just met who was at best a bleeding heart. And she had never felt freer.

Shielding her eyes from the setting sun, she laughed and strode onto the gangplank.


End file.
